In the early 1930s, the German auto industry was still largely composed of luxury models, and the average German could rarely afford anything more than a motorcycle. As a result, only one German out of 50 owned a car. Volkswagen was originally established in 1937 by the German Labour Front and headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen translates as "People's Automobile" in German. The company's current international slogan is "Volkswagen". It is the flagship marque of the Volkswagen Group and is the largest automaker worldwide currently.

Volkswagen has factories in many parts of the world, manufacturing or assembling vehicles for local markets in Mexico, the US, Slovakia, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Malaysia, Brazil, Argentina, Portugal, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and South Africa. In 2011, the Forbes Global 2000 named Volkswagen in the top 25 largest companies in the world. In 2013, Volkswagen Motorsport driver Sébastien Ogier won the World Rally Championship and Jari-Matti Latvala finished third in their specially built Polo WRC rally car.

Volkswagen’s current model range consists of the Up!, Polo, Beetle, Golf, Jetta, Passat, CC, Scirocco, Touran, Sharan, Tiguan and Touareg. The brand also offers customers high-performance models like the Polo GTI, Golf GTI, Golf R and Scirocco R, which are currently in vogue with many enthusiasts.